Noodling: a Crazy Way to Fish

In Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas, one way to catch fish is through the art of "noodling." Simply put, noodling is a way to catch fish barehanded. In early May, you start scouting the river beds, especially the low water areas. You get a partner and a boat and you slowly look for places in the river bed that have holes or downed trees. Many of these exist especially along the river banks. Some people will make homemade maps of these locations Others will just mentally mark for future use.

When the weather gets hot in July, August, and early September, Catfish like to find a hole or cooler place in the water. They become very lazy and just sit there. they have usually feed themselves so they aren't very active. This makes it very easy to catch these fish.

The art of noodling is simple but, can also be very dangerous. If you don't know what you are doing, it is best to leave it to those that do. However, you can still go and watch the "wrestling" with the big ones. Eventually, that is what it is. "Wrestling."

Basically two or three individuals will get a John Boat. One will handle the boat while the other wades into the water. The person in the water moves very slowly. They creep right up to the holes the fish might be in. They then duck their heads under water and look for the fish. Some will wear goggles and some won't. Many times the fish can be seen from the boat if the water is clear enough.

The individual that wades in the water will wear tennis shoes so that they can grip the bed under the river. This also helps them from cutting their feet on jagged rocks and trash that has been thrown into the river. The wader will also wear a tight pair of gloves. However, once again, some individuals will just go barehanded. They have a rope tied to their waist just in case they get into trouble . Another individual holds the other end of the rope.

The wader goes under water very silently making very little movement. They go up to the large Catfish and shove their open hand through the front of the fishes mouth and out through the gill. With their other hand they try to grab the opposite gill and lift the fish out of the water. The person that does this has to be able to hold his breath for two minutes are longer. As he lifts the fish out of the water, the individual in the boat or another person sometimes have to help lift the heavy fish into the boat. Once the fish has been grasped, the real battle begins. Sometimes the wader has to try and bear hug the fish to get it out of the water.

This is dangerous type of fishing. It is very easy to lose your footing in handling a large fish. It is very hard to concentrate on lifting the fish plus protecting yourself. That is the reason for the rope around the waste. Many times it is possible to even get more than one fish from a hole. It is often shared by two or more.

There are some States that ban this type of fishing. Still it goes on. The art of noodling is usually passed on within the family. Like any other skill, the more repetitions that an individual does, the better that they get at it.

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to talk and watch a couple gentlemen do this form of fishing. They had been doing it for years and enjoyed the thrill of it. They emphasized to me that this is a technique that should be treated seriously because of the danger involved. They stressed the importance of staying in shallow water.